Kasumi ni Kitsune Fox in the Mist
by Arieru Ratoretto
Summary: The nine tailed fox demon left Konoha ravaged, but why? Gai sensei reveals the shameful mistake of his youth, and a strange girl calls Naruto mother. Back up, Plot Bunnies be gone!
1. Prologue

Twelve years ago, Konoha was under siege by a vicious fox spirit. When it swung it's nine tails, tsunamis and earthquakes would wreak havoc on their village. The cause of this ancient beasts anger was unknown to the majority of the village, but now and again a few older ninja would look back on those days and remember the foolish mistakes of their youth...

Master Gai lay in the grass along side the forest near the village. He looked up at the sky with a blank expression on his face, his voice was barely audible as spoke.

"Ah, the foolishness of the youth..." His mind reeled as he thought back to the memories of that day...

_Gai sat on a log, looking over at his arch-rival, Kakashi! He sat there, reading his odd books, thinking he was all that. Hmpf, he'd show him one of these days. He'd do something that Kakashi couldn't accomplish in a million years! Once he thought of something, that is. He would dwell on it all the time. He was stronger than him, but no one would listen! Days went by, and nothing came up. No chance to prove himself. He walked alone along the outskirts of the forest, thinking. The forest was so peaceful at night... A small fox disturbed the silence of the night. He kept quite, so that he would not scare it away. Understanding of an animals harsh life provoked him to spare the vixen the trauma. He watched as it looked around, no doubt scouting for predators. Animals were simple, and predictable. That simplicity made watching them calming. It sniffed around a few times and started to explore the forest edge. It was probably a kit out of the den for the first time. He smiled, thinking what a facile life they lead. They slept, they ate, they played... Something strange caught his attention, tearing his thoughts away from the dream. The fox had stood up onto it's hind legs, and sat back on it's haunches, looking much like a trained dog. Curiosity sprung from his former stupor as he waited._

_It seemed to stretch its self out, as if it were reaching for the moon itself, until it had reached a much greater stature than one a young animal should have. The creature's features were beginning to look deformed, wrong somehow. It's snout was nowhere near as long as it had been, it's ears were smaller and to the sides... Watching the transformation unfold, at first with interest and finally amazement, a full sized human girl was standing in the spot where the fox had been not a moment before. Her green eyes scoped out the night, just as the fox's had, and her auburn hair cascaded down her back. He gasped in sudden realization, 'This is it!' He followed the girl as she examined the world around her. She appeared about fifteen, but the admiration with which she looked at the world was that of a child seeing it for the first time. Though still shocked at the whole experience, he had heard of this kind of thing before. She was a kitsune, a fox that possessed the ability to take on a human form. They were tricksters, and not to be trusted. However innocent the creature appeared, he should not let his guard down. Tiny pin pricks up and down his legs reminded Gai of the length of time he had not moved them. Irritated at himself, he looked back to see the woman gone. The vixen, who replaced the maiden, leisurely started for the forest, glimpsing back at the field only once as if trying to soak up it's beauty for another time. Carefully, he followed, making sure that his sleeping leg did not give him away. She stopped in front of a tree only to suddenly disappear. Gai grinned smugly to himself as he waited for the first rays of sunlight to fall on the ground before approaching the den. 'Kakashi will have to pay attention to this.' The thought of his rival brought excitement, and he carried out his deed. He was to be the first man to successfully capture a live fox spirit._

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Well, it's only the prologue, but I hope you liked it. I'm thinking of continuing the story if I get reviews, but I'm kind of lazy so I won't put it up unless I know people are going to read it! Thanks for your time, hopefully I will talk to you again! 


	2. Chapter 1 Trouble

Okay, so here's chapter one! Enjoy, and I apologize if I take too long to update in the future, I will do my best! A new character will be introduced in this chapter, please treat her kindly!

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Naruto led his friends through the woods with ease. He had spent much of his free time here, before the stupid jounin had found out about it. _Apparently_, these woods were off limits. In his opinion, they were just being stupid. Seriously! He went here all the time and he'd never once ran into anything dangerous, they were just hiding something from him. But then again, that's why they were here. Gai seemed to be soooo afraid of the big bad forest that the genin decided to have a little fun with him. Naruto had personally crashed Sakura and the girls' slumber party to ensure the success of this endeavor. The guys even came along, because whether or not they liked to be in any way associated with Naruto, they DID share his curiosity. He grinned as he thought of all the secrets that could be hiding at this very moment, just waiting for the great Naruto to uncover them! He snickered at their futile attempts to keep things from him. 

"Dobe, would you stop giggling and find something already?" Sasuke looked at him with bored expression on his face. These guys had dragged him out of bed and into this forest and it had better be worth it. All the genin had split themselves into two groups so that they covered more ground and still had enough people together to be safe. Naruto's group had Sasuke, Sakura, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. The other group had Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee. It worked out somehow, although Ino was being quite annoting about not getting to be in a group with Sasuke. They had decided to keep it simple by leaving people in their three man teams.

"Aw, shut up Sasuke-teme! Like you could do any better!" Stupid Sasuke, he thought he was just soooo much better than everyone else. He hated that guy! And Sakura fauned over him, too! Some guys had all the luck.

"Man, Sasuke-san's right! This is booring. Jeez, Naruto, can't you do something useful for once?" Kiba smirked at the class clown. Man he was such an idiot, he probably got them lost. Lucky for them Akamaru and he knew the way back! That'd show him just who was the better ninja. Tch, a ninja who got lost in the woods! What a joke!

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. Stupid Kiba.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" Naruto ignored the 'bog-breath' and decided to find a better way to find something cool.

"A-ano... Y-yes, Naruto-kun?" Her words came out in broken fragments and cheeks grew hot. She always stuttered when she spoke to Naruto.

"Think you can use your Byakugan or something? You know, look for something interesting that Gai sensei is so afraid of, Heh!"

Hinata nodded, concentrating. She forced her eyes open, her gaze cutting through the air itself. Kilometer after kilometer in only a few seconds. Trees, trees, trees. All she could see was forest.

"Oh!" The others gathered around her expectantly as she gauged the distance between their group and the strange object. It was very cleverly hidden, and would most likely have never been found if not for her extremely potent sight. There was a small stone doorway carved into a boulder. It was completely covered in vines, and had essentially become part of the scenery. One more thing was strange about it, though. The vines, the trees, moss. They were all dead.

"What is it, Hinata? Huh? Come on, don't leave us in the dark!" Naruto's eyes gleamed with excitement. What did she find? What could it be? He couldn't even begin to guess, but couldn't wait to find out!!

"It's... It's a door... Of s-some kind. L-like a passage way, or s-something... All the plants around it... Th-they're all dead..." Hinata returned her sight to normal, but was feeling slightly uneasy. She had come because Naruto wanted them to, he was so excited about it... But, they really shouldn't be there, Gai sensei had said so...

"Kyaaa! You're AWESOME HINATA-CHAAAN!" He hugged her briskly, and went on to gloat to the others.

"Did ya hear that Sakura-chan? I was right! There IS something here!" He grinned broadly, anything to make Sakura impressed.

"Jeez, Naruto-kun, don't jump the gun, we don't even know if it IS anything yet." She crossed her arms and closed her eyes in scorn of him, while peeking out at Sasuke with one eye to see if he was watching.

"Aw, whatever! Let's just go. Lead the way Hinata-chan!" Hinata, who was still recovering from Naruto's welcome invasion of her personal space, shook her head and awkwardly started to make the path. Several minutes had gone by, and several more. The distance was not so great; however, cutting back the various weeks and other flora was more time consuming. Completely ignoring the fact that leaving such an obvious trail of cut plants was very un-ninja like, they managed to make their way to their destination.

The door was indeed old, and was actually a separate piece from the stone it was set in. The door was made to look as if individual bricks had been melded together, but it was actually carved out of one slab of stone, most likely originating from the bolder itself. There was no handle, and seemingly no mechanism to allow one to open or close the door.

"We're here, but... How are we supposed to open this thing? Great job, Naruto-kun, NOW what're we gunna do?" Naruto hung his head in disappointment at Sakura's cruel remark, but refused to give up so easily. He laughed it off and examined the wall from top to bottom, scampering around and looking somewhat like a monkey. That's what probably earned his next crude comment.

"Oi, Naru-saru, you missed something." Sasuke's pun on Naruto's name rhyming with 'monkey' or saru, only made him more mad when Sasuke showed everyone the small indent in the side of the door.

"Obviously, someone's supposed to pull here and slide the door to the side. The boulder must have a hollow spot for the door to fit in. It hasn't been opened in a long time though, there are vines growing at the base." It was the most obvious thing in the world, Naruto was such an idiot.

"You're so smart Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed, reminding some of the other genin of a pig. They kept their opinions to themselves in the favor of surviving, however.

"Grr... Let's just go in already!" Stupid Sasuke, always having to be the center of attention! He pulled on the wall, unable to budge it an inch. Only when all the genin worked together were they able to move the door out of the way, allowing them passage into the chamber. There was a long staircase leading straight down. It didn't go down too far, though. For the most part, the tunnel was only about six feet deep. Silently, the group of young ninja filed into the dark room. The air was musky, and stale. They passed by little plants growing up out of the cracks in the stone floor, but they were just like the ones outside. There was only one path, but it turned at sharp angles, like an elaborate maze with only one path and no branches coming off. Everyone could hear each other breathing loudly, trying to get the meager amount of oxygen they could out of the air.

"Maybe... M-maybe we should g-go back. The air in here... The air i-is stale. We c-could--" She was cut off by Naruto's loud voice.

"We came this far! We're not going back until the end." Determination showed in his movements, but he panted heavily. It was a struggle for them all, just surviving in here for this short amount of time was difficult. No wonder everything was dead. The rest of the trip was shared in silence, but not quiet. Their footsteps echoed off the walls, their heartbeats abnormally loud. The only sign of life in the whole place was their own labored breath. Without warning, Akamaru lept off of Kiba's head, barking and running down the hallway.

"Akamaru!" Kiba ran after him, leaving the others behind.

"Hey! Wait for us you big jerk! Man, what's his problem?" Then Naruto's face had a weird expression on it.

"Hey... Do you guys hear that?"

"Hear w-what, Naruto-kun?" Hinata stammered, looking at him with a worried expression.

"A... A song. Someone's singing..." He looked awed as he stared after where Kiba had ran off.

"I'm going on ahead!" He bolted just like Kiba, towards the darkness up ahead.

"Hey! Tch, well I don't hear ANYthing." Sakura pouted. She felt put off, and left out of the whole thing. Shino and Sasuke looked at the pathway with suspicion, and continued on ahead. The two kunoichi followed after them, Sakura calling after Sasuke and Hinata looking down at her feet. They arrived to see both boys staring incredulously at... A wall. A dead end, except not. There was a hole in the wall. And it had bars across it. Naruto was still convinced that he heard someone singing, so he called out.

"Hey! Anyone there?" A long silence followed his outburst, causing the others to look at him with disdain. Then...

"H-Hello? Is anyone there?" The weak voice was barely audible, as if unable to believe that they had heard someone.

"We're right here! Here!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. There was a PERSON down there! How could they survive in this place which spending minutes in had cause such discomfort.

"Ah! Please! Could you please get me out of here? Hello?" The voice was clearly feminine. Young and feminine and in distress. Nothing could get Naruto into action faster.

"Don't worry! We'll get you out!!" He turned to his peers, who seemed to be just as shocked as he was to find life in this desolate place. Shino nodded to Naruto and had his bugs check the wall for weak points, having them eat away at parts while the others dug into it with their kunai. They worked quickly and effectively. None of them could imagine how horrible it had to be to be locked up in there. How long had this girl been in there? It was amazing that she was still alive, let alone healthy enough to speak! It had originally been a door, so they worked around the edges and a spot near the ground. None of them could fit in, so Kiba sent Akamaru in to check if there was room for them to kick the door down without harming it's prisoner. The dog returned and Kiba affirmed that the room was quite big enough, and Naruto immediately threw himself at the door. It landed with a painfully loud crash and he rushed into the room. As the dust cleared, a form could be seen at the far end of the room. The girl was chained to the wall by a cuff on her neck, and two more on her wrists, making them stretched out across the wall, the rest of her hanging limply like a doll. Her head was hung, and a veil of auburn hair covered her features. Sasuke and Shino instantly set to work on breaking the chains. The metal cuffs would have to be remove with more specific tools later, when they got her out. Her arms dropped to the floor, and she finally raised her face to the young ninja. The expression that adorned her face was that of death, but when her eyes fell upon the blonde boy in front of her they blazed an unearthly green and there was no doubt that she was alive. Her eyes widened in shock, and she got up, barely supporting herself on her underused legs. She took a few staggered steps towards Naruto and fell to her knees, holding him in an embrace.

"Mother..."

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Okay, so I left that off on kind of a cliffhanger, but don't hate me too much! It's just turned five in the morning, so I'm gunna try to go to sleep now. Insomnia, bad for me, good for the story, lol. Please review and let me know what you think so far! 


	3. Chapter 2 Seien

Yay! Chapter two is complete! Please let me know if I get OOC with any of the characters because that's exactly what I am trying to avoid! I still haven't decided on pairings yet, and I know that sometimes people get annoyed with OC pairings so I might just leave her out of the pairings unless you guys could forgive me. She's my baby so treat her kindly, please!

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The girls hair was so long that it covered her body when she sat down, but after she had gotten up a few moments before it came to light that the girl who was so desperately clinging to Naruto was, in fact... Naked. Not that it was something the genin hadn't seen before, Naruto was always flaunting his 'Sexy Jutsu', but this would be many of the young boys first encounter with a fully developed naked and _in person_ woman. She buried her face in Naruto's orange jacked, klinging to him as a babe would cling to it's mother. And what she had said earlier... A blush rose to the blonde's face and he was torn between holding her for her own support or pushing her away for the sake of decency. His pupils dialated, and the panic started to set in when he acknowledged the descending looks he was getting from his teammates. 

"H-heh. Um, look here, I'm _not_ your mother, you see..." He held her at arm's length and looked pleadingly at his friends.

"A little help here?" Shino approached, and took off his long coat, revealing a tight, black undershirt.

"Eek! What are you doing!?" Sakura squealed, knowing well what he was doing but acting surprised because of who he was. Shino was so quite that she had almost forgotten that he was there. Times like these made her thankful that she lived in a ninja village. All the boys trained, and their bodies were _nice_. Shin raised an eyebrow at her and gently draped his coat on the strange girl's shoulders, covering her features from the view of the group of embarased boys. Sasuke turned slightly pink, and looked away but it was less noticeable on him than the others. Kiba had been openly staring, jaw dropped clear to the floor. The girl's slender fingers released Naruto's shirt and moved to clutch the coat. She again attempted to get up, but fell down with the effort. She was unable to stand.

Kiba noticed his opening to make a good impression on the girl, and moved closer to help her stand, but Akamaru growled loudly and barked at her.

"H-hey! Stop that, Akamaru!" He apologized profusely, glaring at the dog for ruining his first impression. Her eyes snapped to look at the pup, her eerie glare freezing even those who did not instigate it. Whimpering came from Kiba's coat, and they noticed that the dog had hidden.

_/The dog is the mortal enemy of the fox./ _

When she averted her eyes and again attempted to stand, Shino offered his hand. She gracefully placed her hand in his and rose to her feet, wobbling a bit before regaining her balance. By this time, Naruto had gotten up and was looking embarrassed, a rarity for him since he usually reveled in the strange looks he got. This was different, he could feel something inside him when he heard the song she had been singing. He knew that song from a long time ago, a very long time ago. Shivers went up his spine as he remembered hearing that voice in his head, Kyuubi's voice. It was so harsh when it taunted him, tried to convince him how he needed her. Fox spirits were dominantly female, so he knew it was a woman even though her voice sounded so cruel as to kill without a second thought. He could feel her voice, not yet hear, but feel, as it bubbled to the surface seeking a way through the seal. His stomach burned and then the feeling was gone.

She took another step, almost falling for the weakness of her own legs. She flinched, all the genin could tell that each step brought her pain. How long? How long had she been there? She had fallen asleep in a borrowed den, awaiting the day to arrive and she would have to return to the astral plane once again to be with her mother. She enjoyed her visits to the physical plane, everything was so... So beautiful. They smelled like nothing in her home, her home that was made merely by the will of so many spirits. No, this was all real. She had fallen to sleep thinking this, only to wake up surrounded by stone and alone. Utterly alone. A time passed and she could hear her mother's angry rage, so close it was to her. She called out, but it was in vain. She could not be heard, the seal put on the room was too strong. It had been strong enough to hold out all spirit things, but these human children didn't even notice it was there... It was broken now, as the door had been broken, but she could still remember the feeling of it. The boy who had placed it there, yes he had come back only once. It was then that she had found out how she got there. He came back to tell her that he would never let her out for what she had done to his village. She did not know what he had been talking about, but she remembered his face. She had gone over it every day for the past twelve years, just to make sure that she never forgot it, never forgot him. When the time came, she would have her revenge on him, but now... Now she needed to feed.

_Kitsune can exist on the physical plane in several ways. The first is to take on a human host, to enter their body. It is the best when one is staying in the physical plane for a long period of time. Usually, the kitsune will enter the fetus of a pregnant woman, pushing the undeveloped soul out to make room for it's own. If the human is willing, the kitsune can make a deal with an older human and take over their body in return for a favor or power. _

_The second way is to inhabit a shrine and feed off of the prayers and offerings given to them by it's people. The kitsune then in turn will protect that area from bad spirits and give the people good luck, and repay them by doing favors. _

_Lastly, kitsune can choose to simply manifest themselves in their own form. This is the most dangerous to the environment, as it takes a vast amount of energy to do this. They can gain energy in many ways, or limit their powers so that they are less damaging. They become less damaging by sealing some of their tails away in a _hoshi no tama_ or star ball. This seals away their power, making it easier for them to manifest. Another way is to feed off of their environment, or living things. Each kitsune has an element based on the thirteen Chinese elements. Usually, they feast off of their respective element and gain power by doing so. For example, a wind kitsune would feed off the air making it stale and unmoving, while a forest kitsune would make plants around their territory sickly or die. Kitsune can feed on other elements than their own, but will only do so in times of great need, for it is more difficult for them to feed outside of their element. The last way is for them to feed off of human souls. This experience is very pleasurable for the human and kitsune alike, but the human will grow sickly if the kitsune feeds too often and may eventually grow lifeless. Kitsune often find human counterparts in which to feed off of, and since feeding leaves the human sore and in pain they will tell the human how to alleviate it with certain herbs or medical solutions. Kitsune can forcefully feed off of humans, but it is more beneficial for both of them if their life force is given willingly. If done right, the human will gain from it as well as the kitsune since they make their own life force and it comes back quickly. Kitsune follow the spirit world's strict rule of give and receive equally, so they always give back to their patrons. However, they also have a moral code of their own. If a good deed is done, the kitsune will be very grateful and will repay the deed tenfold. But if a harm is done to them, they can hold horrible grudges lasting many eons and will even wait until the person is reborn in order to wreak their revenge. _

"She doesn't look so good..." Sakura was feeling a little left out, since the guys had a naked woman to stare at and was feeling the need for attention again. They all looked at her cynically for her obvious comment.

"W-What should we do with her? She can't come with us to the city, we'd get caught for coming here without permission..." Naruto scratched his nose. The others thought of all the reasons that the girl couldn't come home with them until they were all staring at Sasuke. He raised a thin eyebrow.

"...?" The others all agreed that she would have to go to Sasuke's. He lived in the abandoned Uchiha district, no one ever went there. He had his own qualms with the idea, but eventually gave way when the girl collapsed onto the floor. There was a series of shouting, everyone blaming everyone else for taking so long that she fainted. It was agreed that she would stay there for the time being, but not alone with Sasuke, Naruto had argued, in case he did something weird. None of them said aloud that he was more likely to do something weird because they thought that it would be better with more of them anyway, and she had, after all called him mother. The others smirked at Naruto calling him 'okasan' on the occasion. Shino ended up carrying her, but had the help of Sasuke since she was very tall. She weighed almost nothing, Sakura noted with a hint of envy, but it was awkward for only one of them to carry her piggy back since she was embarassingly naked under Shino's coat and that position revealed a bit more than necessary.

After all the excitement of the day, they had nearly forgotten all about the other half of their squad, who arrived at the arranged meeting point tired and unsatisfied with the whole adventure.

"Man, where are those idiots, anyway? They're late!" Tenten was getting rather annoyed with them. They were supposed to meet them an hour ago and the kunai that she regularly kept strapped to the inside of her leg was starting to chafe. Shikamaru sighed. He was laying on his back, staring up at the sky with the usual expression on his face.

"They probably got themselves into some kind of mess. How troublesome." Ino was being more of a bitch than usual, seeing as Sakura had gotten to go off with Sasuke. What could possibly keep Sasuke away from her for this long? She sighed. Chouji was, of course, eating chips and Lee was making himself busy doing chin ups on a nearby tree.

"If I can't do 500 chin ups, then I have to do 1000 push ups with Neji sitting on my back." Speaking of which, he was using his Byakugan to scout the area for the missing ninjas.

"They're heading our way, but they seem to have someone with them." The others, with the exception of Shikamaru who didn't really care, gathered around Naji for information.

"Who is it? What do they look like?" Neji concentrated on the image, and responded to Tenten's prodding.

"It's... A girl. She's very thin, she looks ill. Shino and Sasuke are supporting her, and she appears to be unconscious. Ino's face was struck with a jealous expression when he mentioned the gender of the newcomer.

"Well, what's she look like? Is she... Pretty? How long is her hair? What's she dressed in?" Neji ignored the rest of the nonsense that flooded out of her mouth, and gave a short description of her.

"She's fairly tall, I'd say around five foot seven, and her hair trails on the ground. How strange. She is..." He smirked at Ino, knowing that this would make her angry.

"Quite attractive." Tenten guessed this meant that she was very attractive coming from Neji, and as he had expected, Ino was furious. This lead her on a rant including many phrased such as 'how dare she' and 'my Sasuke', but everyone had grown accustomed to ignoring her. Several excruciatingly long minutes later, the group reached the clearing.

"Heh, sorry we're late!" Naruto scratched the back of his head, and led the others to the group.

"You'd never guess what happened..." After hearing the tale, and picking out the parts they knew Naruto had made up to make himself feel important, they set the girl down to see if she would wake up. Almost instantly, the plants on the ground started to die, going from green, to yellow, to brown as quickly as if a fire had spread among them. The genin's eyes widened and even the most uninterested of them relented to the circle around her. They watched in awe as her eyelids fluttered open, her long lashes finally parting top from bottom. A circle of dead plants surrounded her and even as they were dieing, a little bit of color came back into her cheeks. She breathed in long, shallow breaths, each one labored but gracefully so. The others stepped back a moment as the air around her became tasteless, and the rock Chouji had been sitting on crumbled beneath him. And in the center of all the death, ironically, sat a very beautiful young girl. She sat up, now with easy breathing, and looked around at her surroundings. She frowned as she picked up a dead honey clover and it turned to dust at her touch. The others looked at her with wariness, unsure if she was helpless or dangerous. Then she turned to them, and did something that cast away any doubts they may have had. She smiled.

"Ohayou... Or is is Konban wa..." She corrected herself as she looked up at the darkened sky. She again attempted to stand up, Shino, Kiba, and Naruto gathered closer ready to catch her if she fell again. When she stumbled they all got ready, only to have her catch herself. She stood uneasily on her legs, but with confidence. Then she bowed to them in greeting, as if to make up for the trouble she was giving them.

"Gomen nasai..." Her voice was quiet, but smooth. It wasn't overly high like a lot of girls their age, and not seductively low like some older women. It wasn't rough or raspy, not was it oily and overly flattering. It was just what it was. It was a likable voice. They observed her, and waited to see if she would say something else, when Naruto broke the silence.

"Oi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Who're you?" Sakura hit him over the head for being so direct, but halted when the girl again spoke.

"My name... I am Seien."

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Yes, next I'll try to add in a bit more humor instead of drama, but hey, this fic blows hot and cold so... I hope you enjoyed the story so far, I'll try to update often. Now to do the essay I keep putting off, so bye bye!  



	4. Chapter 3 Home

Gomen about not writing in so long. I got distracted... ;; But I will work hard to make up for it.

Constructive critique is encouraged, but please don't just bash. Ex:

Critique: "You're plot is really sketchy and I think you made Kiba too brutal."

Bash: "This sucks."

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Chapter 3 "Home" 

The rest of the ninja introduced themselves, the more load and simple ones pushing through each other to get ahead, while the quiet genin thougt about the disturbing incidence with the dead plants and wondered if it was alright to keep her.

'Heh...' Shikamaru mused to himself, 'They're treating her like she's a pet, all jumping up to have their turn to play with it.' But nobody was looking at his smirking face, because they were all too occupied with their 'pet'. The friends eventually decided what they would do with her. Sasuke and Naruto would watch over her in the Uchiha district, and the girls would help her out with clothing. They would have to eventually take her out into the town after making up some story to explain her presence, or just say nothing and act like she belonged there. The jounin and Hokage couldn't possibly know everyone in the whole village, because despite being called a village, it was actually quite large and chalk full of people. Everyone was gathered around the slightly disoriented Seien, when their loud series of conversations were interrupted by a small voice.

"A-ano... It's q-quite dark out... Sh-shouldn't we... Be g-getting back soo-soon? Sakura's mother will b-be expecting us..." She blushed slightly and fiddled with her fingers. She didn't want to break up their fun, but... She also didn't want them to get in trouble, and Sakura's mother was already stressed out from having so many girls over. Sakura looked up, and then remembered that her mom had told them to come home before it got too late.

"Hinata's right, actually. Come on girls, we'd better get going. We'll bring something for Seien tomorrow morning, Sasuke!" After a few exaggerated sighs, and suggestive goodbye waves to the guys, the girls went off towards Sakura's house. The guys split up, going their separate ways until only the two rivals and the plant killing girl were left. Sasuke sighed and glared at the other two. Seien, who had not said a word since she introduced herself, looked at the two boys for direction. After one more glare at the two who would be imposing on his quiet home life, he started down the road. Neither Sasuke nor Seien said much, and after many failed attempts to start some semblance of a conversation with the two, Naruto shut up.

The whole place was deserted. Nothing stirred; no life present except the three of them. After passing many empty buildings, and taking many winding turns, Sasuke stopped. The place wasn't huge, but it wasn't small. He opened the door of the old manor and walked inside, acknowledging the other two only in the fact that he left the door open. When they followed, the Uchiha was already gone, but a small closet door was left open for them to retrieve tami mats and comforters for their bedding. Sasuke honestly didn't see why Naruto had to stay with him as well; he was more likely to do something to her than he himself was. The dobe probably just wanted an excuse to see his house so he could prank him later when Sakura rejected him again.

Naruto's mid was not, however, on pranking Sasuke at his house. Oh, the thought would come to him later, of course, but he had something else weighing heavily on his mind. "This place is _creepy_." He spoke mainly to himself since Sasuke had left them and Seien was not much for talking. No wonder Sasuke was such a freak, living in this place and all. It was silent as the grave. He placed a hand awkwardly on the back of his head and started laughing. Nothing was funny, but it filled the silence. He disliked it when it was quiet. His mind would echo with the lack of sound. And then _she_ would speak. The voice of his mind was, he could only assume, the Kyuubi.

As his eyes were closed, he did not notice Seien. Through her lashes she studied every inch of the room they now stood in. One could not go so far as to call it fear, but it was… Uncomfortable to be within walls. She was walking again, if unsteadily. She would need to feed on something more… Potent than the life force of the environment. If she did not, her surroundings could suffer permanent damage. The area where she had been kept all these years would never be the same. The outside world was just as fascinating as the first day she set foot on the physical plane. Her mother had finally come to get her. The body was different, but she could sense her mother's life force in the boy's body.

What kept her mother there? Surely she did not willingly stay in the body of a mortal. But perhaps it had been to search for her? It would not have taken this long if that had been the case. She crouched down to be at eye level with the boy's stomach. Naruto, that was what they called him?

"H-hey! W-wuh… What are you doing?" That looked _very_ wrong. He took a step or two back before falling on his butt. His face glowed bright red. He was so confused, so embarrassed, he couldn't think straight. It didn't help that she was now on her hands and knees in front of him with her long pale fingers lifting up the edge of his shirt. "Stu… Stop-p t-that! I mean, I like you and all, but… I'm in love with Sakura!!"

She leaned over him wondering what he was talking about. His shirt was now pushed up to his chest, leaving his stomach open for her to see. She lightly brushed her fingertips in a swirl on his stomach coaxing the seal to show itself. His senses tingled at the soft touch of her fingers sending him into a half dazed look. The mesmerizing contact abruptly stopped allowing him to breathe easily once again. He looked down to where she had been touching and was surprised to see that his seal was showing.

Seien stood up, satisfied that she had discovered the seal that kept her mother bound to this human form. It was very powerful; nothing short of it would have restrained her mother. Her mother had attained the most powerful rank a kitsune could hope to attain. She herself only had five tails, but four of them were currently sealed away in her hoshi-no-tama. She did not know where it was, but she knew that anathema of a man had taken it from her. Sealing her own tails had allowed her to sustain herself on this plane without draining too much of the environment, and it had ended up sparing her from sinking back into the astral plane during her long imprisonment. If that had happened she might have never been able to find her mother again.

But the years of being locked up in that hole had taken a great toll on her strength. She needed to feed. She could not feed off Naruto, his energy belonged to her mother. She needed all her power if she was to fight the seal, and even if that were not the case kitsune did not feed off each other. It was not done. The other boy… His life force was vibrant. But she should wait for him to sleep. It would be easier. She knew close to nothing of human kind, for all that she knew their language. They wore strange garments that were nothing like the kimono her mother had taught her of. They had… Odd metal pieces and circle bits the fit into holes in the cloth. She had been stolen away before her mother could teach her the mannerisms of people.

Naruto snapped out of his daze. What was **that** about? Well, he grudgingly admitted that she had not, in fact, been coming onto him. She had somehow brought forth the Kyuubi's seal, though. The girl, Seien… She had… Called him mother before, right? The gears in Naruto's brain could almost be heard grinding against each other. So she must know…. Something about seals or of demons… And she thought he was her mother even though he was obviously a studly man. Then…. "AUG!" He grabbed his head in pain. He had a major headache from thinking so much!

He had decided to forget what had just happened. She obviously hadn't _meant_ to come on to him. She had been looking at his seal. Why? He did not know. He'd ask her later, but now it was time for sleep. Action was the best way to alleviate an embarrassing situation! He hadn't been so embarrassed in one day when the embarrassment wasn't cause by his own actions. It was bewildering. He inwardly congratulated himself on knowing the large word he had just used. Scooting back a few paces-- for safety--, he got to his feet and started to make his way towards the open closet with the bedding. He gave the girl a wide berth and retrieved the mats and comforters. As if approaching a wild animal, he laid one set as close to her as he dared as if giving an offering of peace before he set up his own spot.

The boy had placed a bundle of strange cloth in front of her. "…." She stared at it wondering what it was for. Examining it, it seemed to be a thick mat and a large fluffy thing filled with the down of an owl. A sidelong glance at Naruto gave her a vague idea of what she was supposed to do. Thus, she copied his every move until there were two places for them to sleep laid out on Sasuke's living room floor. Naruto was wondering why she didn't get into bed when he realized that she was staring at him.

"Er…. Do you need something? Eh heh….." Man, she sure did know how to make a guy uncomfortable. That blank stare was really getting to him. He pulled at the collar of his _very_ bright orange jacket. "I'll just… Go to bed now. Yeah… Oyasumi."

Humans made unusual sleeping nests. Well, at least now she knew what the purpose of the strange cloth was. So many feathers… She wondered how many baby owls had given them up to make these. Tens, twenties; probably more. But how could they sleep like that? Strange. Well, since he was going to sleep, she might as well make like she was as well.

Not that she really needed to sleep. Kitsune did not make their own life force like humans, which was the main purpose of sleep in any case. Of course simple movement did not drain them of it either so they had the potential to store much more than humans. What they called the soul was really the ability to die and be reborn with a different life and the ability to change. Most spirits did not die; they simply retreated to the astral plane after their mortal bodies died. Weaker spirits did not have a great memories and thus remembered nothing, but that was not the case among her race.

She rearranged her carefully made bed and turned it into something more comfortable. Curling up in the position closest to a ball that this human body could get, she closed her eyes and listened to his breathing. She must wait until… There; his breathing was coming slower now. Long shallow breaths. He was asleep. She idly wondered _how_ he could sleep with his mouth open like that. And that weird position did not look comfortable either. Well, humans seemed peculiar.

No sound was made as she rose to her feet, not that anything could have woken this deep sleeper. It was in her nature to be careful. Carefully, past the heavy doors, through the empty hallways. If she was accustomed to human dwellings she would have realized how strange the house was. So empty. So quiet. Alas, she was not and so she did not notice. Only the tempting aura ahead drew her forward, its bright light made the surrounding dark in comparison despite her excellent night vision. She… _Needed_ it. _Now_.

The last door, the last barrier between her and the effervescence of his life force, his chakra… She moved it to the side, grimacing at the minute sound of wood on wood. His breathing didn't change. He was still asleep. She approached and knelt down to the floor beside the human's strange bed. The feeling of need intensified with the closeness. She held herself back-- she couldn't afford to have him wake up. Still, she drew closer but it was painfully slow. The closer she got the more it hurt to not devour his life then and there. She would not. She had control over her feeding. Even if… Even if human life force was _so much more satisfying_…

She was right over him now. She could almost feel the chakra seeping into her from where she was, but it was just her imagination. And then… Her lips met the tender skin, the skin of his neck just beneath the curve of his jaw. One of the body's major blood vessels lay there. This was one of the many places in the body that chakra was very concentrated. All organs and major blood vessels were full of it. Pure pleasure filled her as she felt a trickle of power ebb into her body. A small gasp cut through her daze. Her eyes widened. Had she started too fast?

Sasuke felt a jolt of pleasure surge through his body and awakened with a small gasp. He felt soft lips on his neck, the sensitive skin was tickling with a strange sensation. Was he dreaming? No. He definitely was not. His dreams had always been strictly nightmares. With the dark realization he flipped himself over, pinning his… Attacker… Under him. It was Seien.

"What… The _hell_ are you…" Another strangled gasp escaped from him, to his embarrassment. Her hair fanned out around her, strangely untangled even at the sharp movement. She seemed unfazed for her face shoed no apparent emotion. She simply stared at him. Suddenly reminded that the large coat was all she was wearing, a small blush crept across his face. He was too surprised to speak, and where others would have stuttered about in an attempt to say something comprehensible, he stayed silent, not sure what would happen next.

"I was feeding." This she stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Which made him feel really stupid when he did not understand what the heck she was talking about.

"Feeding?" He repeated her last word in a half question. _That_ was feeding? If food made people feel that good everyone in the world would be fat. He was too confused to scoff at this thought, however.

"Yes. Unlike humans, we do not make our own life force. I cannot feed off the environment without harming it because I am too drained. If I were to do that it would permanently alter the surroundings." If she continued to stare at him like that….

"You were feeding… On me?" He was being a bit slow on the uptake. It was expected, she supposed. He was human after all. However, first contact had been made. She no longer needed to touch him to feed. But he knew. So now she needed his consent. She nodded as much as she could without knocking her face into his which meant that she barely moved.

"I would not take from your life force without giving you something in return, of course." She turned her face away as if the very thought was shameful. "I will, of course, compensate. What is it that you wish for? A favor, perhaps?"

* * *

For those of you still reading, thank you and I will try to update more often now that my plot is more solid.  



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